Phillip Danault delivered a late go-ahead goal to help the Kings quell a four-goal comeback attempt by the Oilers at Crypto.com Arena.
* Alex Ovechkin scored the winner during the first overtime game of the postseason as stars continued to shine in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Colin Blackwell also buried an overtime goal as the Stars evened their First Round series, while Kyle Connor collected his second straight game winner as the Jets treated the “Winnipeg Whiteout” to another victory.
* Tuesday features a second straight four-game slate highlighted by the Panthers pitted against the Lightning to open their First Round series.
Kings outlast Oilers in Game 1 thriller at Crypto.com Arena
Phillip Danault put the Kings up 4-0 and potted the go-ahead goal with 41.1 seconds remaining in regulation after the Oilers pulled even as Los Angeles opened its fourth straight First Round series against Edmonton with a thrilling triumph.
* The Kings’ victory marked the fourth instance in Stanley Cup Playoffs history where a team won a game in regulation after surrendering a four-goal lead. The others were achieved by the Flames (Game 1 of 2022 R2) and Bruins (Game 2 of 1978 SF & Game 1 of 1972 SCF).
OVECHKIN SCORES FIRST PLAYOFF OVERTIME GOAL AS CAPITALS CLIP CANADIENS
Alex Ovechkin (2-1—3) opened the scoring and recorded his first career playoff overtime goal just 2:26 into extra time as Washington withstood a comeback attempt by Montreal and took a 1-0 lead in its First Round series.
* Ovechkin (39 years, 216 days) became the fourth-oldest player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with an overtime goal behind Igor Larionov (41 years, 187 days in Game 3 of 2002 SCF), Ray Whitney (39 years, 355 days in Game 1 of 2012 CSF) and Steve Thomas (39 years, 322 days in Game 4 of 2003 SCF). Ovechkin contested his 46th career postseason overtime game, which marked the most by a player in League history at the time of his first overtime goal (previous: 33 GP by Scott Niedermayer in Game 5 of 2007 CSF).
* Ovechkin reached 74 career playoff goals to tie Joe Pavelski for 13th place on the NHL’s all-time list, passing Patrick Marleau, Esa Tikkanen and Dino Ciccarelli in the process. Ovechkin’s first tally was his 29th career postseason power-play goal, which moved him into a tie with Mario Lemieux for seventh place in League history.
Blackwell pulls Stars even; Connor, Scheifele lead Jets to 2-0 series lead
Colin Blackwell was inserted into Dallas’ lineup for Game 2 and buried the overtime winner as the Stars evened their opening-round matchup at 1-1, while Mark Scheifele (1-1—2) and Kyle Connor accounted for both of Winnipeg’s goals to help the Jets take their first 2-0 series lead since the 2021 First Round when they swept the Oilers.
* Blackwell became the second player in franchise history with an overtime goal during his first playoff contest with the Stars/North Stars, following Minnesota’s Brian Propp in Game 1 of 1991 Division Semifinals. Blackwell became the first player to achieve the feat with any club since Kyle Palmieri for the Islanders in Game 1 of the 2021 First Round.
* Scheifele became the first player in franchise history to record a multi-point game in each of his first two contests to start a postseason. The series will now shift to St. Louis, where Winnipeg earned wins in Game 3 and 4 during the 2019 First Round.
* Scheifele and Connor now have goals through each of the first two games of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs – only two players in Jets/Thrashers history have started a postseason with a longer run: Adam Lowry (3 GP in 2023) and Patrik Laine (3 GP in 2019).
QUICK CLICKS
* Dan Bylsma fired by Kraken following 1st season as coach
* Devils need to ‘trust our instincts’ in Game 2 against Hurricanes
* Senators refocusing on special teams, discipline for Game 2 against Maple Leafs
* Rogers Xfinity unveils Multiview for Stanley Cup Playoffs
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – April 21, 2025
Tuesday features second straight four-game slate
Tuesday’s schedule features the Panthers and Lightning contesting Game 1 of their First Round series as well as the Devils, Senators and Wild looking to pull even on the road. Click here to read the April 22 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates, which has notes ahead of each contest.
PANTHERS, LIGHTNING SET TO BATTLE FOR FLORIDA SUPREMACY
A series packed with 4 Nations Face-Off stars, the Battle of Florida will be part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth time overall, all in the past five years. The winner of each Lightning–Panthers series has reached the Stanley Cup Final: the Lightning won in the 2021 First Round (won Cup) and 2022 Second Round (lost in Final), while the Panthers took the 2024 First Round (won first Cup). Overall, the state of Florida has been represented in the Stanley Cup Final in five straight years (2020 to 2024, including three wins).
* Led by two-time reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, the Lightning eye a third Stanley Cup in six seasons – a feat achieved only twice since the start of the 1990s (Chicago and Detroit won 3 in 6 from 2010 to 2015 and 1997 to 2002, respectively).
* The reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers bring back 14 players from their championship roster as they seek a third straight trip to the Final and to become the 10th franchise to repeat as champions (both feats last done by Tampa Bay). The Panthers have played and won more playoff games since 2021 than in their first 26 seasons of existence, topping the NHL in games (61) and wins (35) since 2021.
* A total of 14 players who were part of the 4 Nations Face-Off are part of this series (FLA: 9, TBL: 5) – the most of any First Round matchup – including captains who also served that role at the event: Aleksander Barkov and Victor Hedman. Also part of that list are “playoff ready” Panthers players like Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand, as well as Lightning forwards Brayden Point (42), Jake Guentzel (41), Brandon Hagel (35) and Anthony Cirelli (27) – who combined for half of the goals scored by the highest-scoring team in the League this season (49.7%; 145 of 292 goals in regulation/overtime).
